Although, we will miss Tilla´s input to our weekly news, we are happy that she got the new, amazing career oportunity! We all will be crossing our fingers for her new projects and challanges.

We decided to leave the section on the blog for a bit longer, because we are sure, that you can still find some helpful tips and recommendations from our Swedish expert. Take advantage of them and fall in love with Swedish lifestyle!

Resource: http://www.collarcitybrownstone.com/2012/08/swedish-home-interior-decorating.html?m=1

Who wouldn´t?

Although I am very busy I still managed to put together a little wishlist., hopefully Santa will see it If you are still looking for a gift – maybe it you will find some tips here!:)

Resource: edblad.com

Resource: kors.com

Besides all the nice, shiny things out there, my family and I have
few other wishes.

Health is the most important precious thing in life and the past year has shown me that in a very clear and cruel way. Luckily all is going in the right direction now. but if only that wish would come true, all other things wouldn’t matter!

More quality time with the family is my second big wish. I tend to spend too much time on the phone or computer when I am supposed to play and hang with my girls.

And then my third wish is more general. I wish for a more thoughtful way on how we all act to each other. A smile and a nice word can make such a difference, no matter if that is in the supermarket or on the playground.

With a big smile on my face, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful time with your loved ones !
Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

There are a few different theories on why we celebrate this day. However, the essence is clear: a beautiful young blond woman brings a light into the dark.

All over the country there will be Lucia processions. In churches, hospitals, kindergartens, schools and shopping malls. All of them will have one Lucia. Every girl growing up in Sweden dreams of being Lucia one year.

In the kindergarten there are of course as many Lucias as they can dress up. It would be too cruel to choose just one out of many cute blonde kids

This is already our third Lucia in daycare, but it feels like the first real one. My oldest daughter, almost 4 years old now, has been preparing herself for weeks now. She can’t wait for the day to come. Neither can I.

I will wake my family with fresh baked saffron buns and warm chocolate milk (coffee for me and hubby). Our special Lucia breakfast already became a dear tradition at our family.

It is almost scary how fast these last days of the year go by. In less than 2 weeks it is Christmas. I have to wrap a LOT of gifts and can´t wait to see my daughters´ eyes when they see the tree and all the gifts.

However, first – Lucia.

Have a great week everyone,

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

The white, crisp snow makes everything so much more beautiful and peaceful. It adds a lot of light to this dark season of the year.

Since Sunday the temperature has been around of -15°C or even lower – at the nighttime it´s getting down to -20. Keeping warm is quite a challenge.

When I lived in Germany – in Cologne to be exact  – I didn´t really know what winter means. I also didn´t have the right clothes for it. However, if you want to enjoy this season in Sweden, warm clothes are essential.

No matter how cold it gets, I absolutely love this time of the year! Only when my girls have to get dressed for outside adventures, it gets more complicated. It can easily take 15 min before all 3 of us are properly dressed

Resource: http://www.woolrichclothing.co.uk

For my birthday this year I got the classic Woolrich Arctic Parka – a basic piece that will keep me warm for many winters.

Resource: http://www.hunkydory.se/web/Main_collection.aspx

Resource: http://www.tintinstyle.se/cozy-sweater/p/4658

Resource: http://www.tintinstyle.se/amalie-jumper/p/3915

Resource: http://www.tintinstyle.se/cecil/p/3830

Resource: http://shop.creativelounge.se

At the moment I match it with warm cardigans,  tops and big boots.

Next week we will celebrate the St. Lucia day, one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions here in Sweden.

I can’t wait to tell you all about this wonderful day.

Until then, stay warm and cozy! Have a wonderful week!

Love from Stockholm, Tilla

http://www.tintinstyle.se/cecil/p/3830

One of them is Fifth Ave Shoe Repair.

The brand was founded in 2004 and quickly became recognizable through its great materials and good quality. One of my first purchases after i have moved to Sweden was a pair of shoes at Fifth Ave S.R.

The collection is very Swedish: urban, edgy and comfortable. You can easily combine the pieces with other styles and items. The company puts lots of effort into perfect cuts and shapes. For many artists and trendy people from south of Stockholm the collection became a kind of a uniform.

As an award winning brand V AVE S.R  can be found at almost every nice store in the city.

Resource: http://www.vave-shoerepair.com

I wouldn’t mind the nougat colored suit, a nice piece for work and leisure. Very essential for a cold winter.

Snow will soon find its way up here and I can’t wait till it brightens up the darkest time of the year.

Have a great week everyone!

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

Having kids made all holidays more important to us. The biggest of them is of course Christmas. As significant in Germany as in Sweden and with lots of similar traditions – Christmas is our favorite holiday of the year.

For me, decorating the house and making everything a little bit more special is a ‘must’ in this season and I could spend lots of money on that. Luckily my husband also really loves this time of the year and never thinks that I´m doing too much.

Today I would like to introduce you to one of my absolute favorite brands when it comes to Christmas decoration: Danish brand Walther&Co. They basically produce only Christmas decorations, which is not very common on the interior scene.

Resource: waltherogco.dk

I love the atmosphere that their decorations bring. My favorite colors during this season are mainly the same ones like for the rest of the year: white, black, grey, silver and a little hint of more vivid colors here and there. Maybe during this season it will be red?;-)

We already started decorating our place last weekend since the next two weeks are going to be very busy for us. However, I still try to add something new every day.

I hope you are all doing well and starting to get into the Christmas spirit. All I miss is snow!

Have a great week everyone!

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

I find the hair trend really interesting! Not sure if it would fit me though…

All pictures from: http://pinterest.com./

When it comes to Interior…Nah, don’t really like it a lot, but maybe it is one of these things that take some time to get used to. We will see, nothing urgent that I have to decide on now!

Christmas is coming together with many occasions to dress up the girls, the house and myself. I am constantly collecting ideas for decoration, recipes for food and cookies, gift ideas, outfit ideas…

Ever since we have our kids, Christmas became so much more important!

By the way, Father’s Day was a great success. We went for a combo of the ideas I had: cookbook, cardigan and small cute things My husband loved it!

Next week I am planning to share some Christmas ideas. It´s never too early for that, right ?

Until then, have a great week everyone.

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

Socks and ties are very traditional gifts, but they are way too boring for us. Since my husband really is the most adorable Dad, he deserves something special.

A cookbook is something he always appreciates – he loves to cook whenever he gets the chance to. The book that I am trying to find for him is written by a Swedish actor, whose cooking show on TV we both really enjoy.

Another thing my husband likes is a nice and cozy cardigan – an essential piece in cold Sweden. However, he also needs a new computer bag plus I love the Whyred shoes, which would be a nice change to his regular sneakers.

Well, I have lots of ideas; just have to decide on something soon.

Resources: www.whyred.se / www.superdry.com / www.permorberg.com

Btw, I am so happy that I got Woolrich Jacket for my birthday! It is already quite cold here and it seems like one of these real cold and long winters is coming, brrr… I will be protected by that wonderful jacket – quite an investment, but so needed.

Hope you are staying warm!

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

One of the reasons could be that kids here don’t have any other occasion, holiday or season when they can dress up. Carnival or German “Fasching” don’t exist in Sweden. The simple fact that sweets are involved in the Trick or Treat might be another explanation. Swedes – no matter if big or small – love sweets:) Imagine that every single supermarket has its own candy-bar!

My first daughter is 3,5 years now and this Halloween is the first one that she is really aware of. She wants to celebrate it and dress up. Today she will have a dress-up party in the Kindergarten, so we bought a witch costume and pumpkins. All of this is quite new to me – I was never so into Halloween. However, as soon as you have kids, such holidays get much more important.

For me a whole new world of decoration opens up, yet another reason to decorate the house.

Resource: Pinterest.com

Resource: marthastewart.com

When I was browsing the net, I found these two ideas that I’ll definitely keep in mind for the next year. There is so much more than just pumpkins

Have a great Halloween and rest of the week,

Love from Stockholm,

Tilla

Now we are “back to daily business” and our hectic working schedules.

Today I would like to present you one of my all-time favorite Swedish brands. It was also one of the first ones that I discovered when I moved to Sweden. It’s WHYRED, a contemporary, yet classic label in the Swedish design world.

It was founded in 1999 and ever since has been growing and earning design prices in Scandinavia.

WHYRED has a timeless design and basic pieces of a great quality. I adore their shoes! In every new collection there is at least one pair that I would love to own.

As no other brand WHYRED represents a special part of Stockholm – Södermalm: Indie but Classic, Chic but edgy and yet timeless.

Check out their website for more info about the brand and their online store. Important hint: they ship they products international:)

Resource: www.whyred.com

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the current collection.

Have a great week everyone!

Love from already quite chilly Stockholm,

Tilla